Story 3 Confluence of Circumstances
by Round Robin
Summary: Another round robin story, this time a season 3 AU, with a couple of unexpected twists inside :)


**This is the third installment in the Round Robin twitter project, some of you must have seen already or even taken part in, composed by 21 fanfiction writer (Again, the full, updated list as well as the link to the original twitter thread can be found in the profile). Thanks to everyone for joining in, both writers and readers. Until next time! XO  
**

* * *

Castle glared at his computer, sulking. Why did Dr. Motorcycle Boy have to be so damn impressive? Honors, awards, charity work. Beckett was dating a saint, for heaven's sake.

Maybe googling him had been a mistake.

He poured another drink.

The phone rang.

He looked at the phone and saw the picture of Beckett he took one day at the precinct. A part of him wanted to ignore the call, sulk some more at his computer - maybe he could write about a doctor mysteriously dying - but he couldn't.

With a sigh he answered the call.

"Beckett," he greeted, going for jovial instead of surprised. "To what do I owe the pleasure on a Saturday night?"

"Castle, hey. Hey." She sounded unsure, nervous even. "I um, I need you-your help."

He sat up in his chair. "Of course. What can I do?"

"Can you meet me?"

"Always!" He winced even as it came out of his mouth.

"Um. Good, okay. The public library, main branch. Meet me at the lion?"

"Which one?" he croaked. "Patience or Fortitude?"

"You're gonna need Fortitude," she muttered.

"North side," he told her. "See you in 20."

He clicked off the call and sat back in his chair.

The public library, at night, with Beckett. She may be dating motorcycle-driving-heart-saving-muscles-boy, but books-books were his territory, and libraries his domain. Suddenly, his night didn't look so bad.

Elation humming through his veins, Castle swapped his sweatpants for jeans, stumbling in his haste. His knee slammed against his dresser with a loud crack.

"Ouch. Son of a - "

"Dad, are you okay?" Alexis called from the living room.

"Fine," he assured her, cradling his knee in his palm, trying to smother the pain blooming through his bone.

He limped into the living room, catching his daughter's gaze from the couch. Alexis lifted her eyes from a book, brow arching. "Going somewhere?"

Castle hesitated before he answered. 'Uh. Yes. Library,' he told her. He wasn't lying, at least. 'Be back soon!'

He left before Alexis had a chance to question him any further. His phone chimed again as he entered the elevator.

His blood ran cold when he read the message.

Castle sighed. He couldn't do this right now. A fourteen city book tour? No, Gina would have to understand. He couldn't leave Kate for that long, not now. The distance would be too hard and it would be the final nail in the coffin of any hope for a future together.

He silenced his phone.

* * *

Kate paced, back and forth around Fortitude, her body alight with nervous energy. This - what she had to tell him - could change everything. Was she ready for that?

She lifted her gaze, as if she felt his presence, and her heart leapt when his eyes met hers from across the road.

Castle stepped off the curb, lips flirting with a grin, eyes twinkling and locked on hers.

He never saw the cab coming.

The sound of the horn blared in his ear, pain searing through his hip, but it was the echo of her voice he heard last as the world faded black.

"Castle! Hey, look at me Rick. Stay with me."

His lips parted on a gasp, their word stuck in his throat. Always.

* * *

"I love you, Kate. I've always loved you."

Kate tried not to laugh as she was sitting by his hospital bed. "How much pain killer did they give you?" She twitched the sheet up past his waist. "Wow, Flasher. You realize you're not wearing pants, right?"

Castle waggled his eyebrows.

But then the playfulness ended. "I'm pretty drugged right now. But that doesn't mean that my feelings aren't clear to me."

They said nothing for a moment, and then, "Why did you call, Kate?"

She was startled. "Rick, you're hurt. It can wait."

He smiled warmly, "But, I can't."

"Kate," Rick pleaded, the look in his eyes tearing her heart in two. "Waiting until it's too late never got us anywhere. Please, just tell me."

"I punched him out."

His brain fritzed. Did. Not. Compute. Verbal violence, sure. Not physical.

"You what? Why? How? Need bail?" And then, "Who?"

"Josh." Her face crumpled.

His drugged smile blazed.

"I had to. Self defense."

He got alarmed. "Oh my god, Kate...did he hurt you?"

"No! But...we were arguing...and he got so possessive... I never saw that side of him before. He was so angry... He almost..."

"Arguing about what?"

A brief smile on her face. "You."

"Me?" he asked, surprised. Why would seemingly-perfect-Motorcycle-Boy ever be worried about him?

"Yeah, he... he accused me of cheating. He said he wanted to remind me I was his. I told him no, but he wasn't listening... I just- I needed to get out of there."

Ch- _Cheating_ , with _him_? Castle blinked dumbly,zoning out.

"Castle?"

His eyes regained focus as they settled on her concerned face. "If he believes that, he's a damn fool." He couldn't quite control the hard steel in his voice, nor the hand that naturally wrapped around her own.

He felt warm, that hand of his, ever so gently wrapping around hers. She returned the gesture. "I would never cheat, not on Josh, not on anyone." Castle nodded, because he knew this. He knew her. "But I wasn't happy with him, you know? I hadn't been for a while, actually."

He squeezed her hand, reveling in how right it felt to have their fingers laced together.

'I don't want to presume anything...' he trailed off as he swallowed, unable to keep hope from blooming in his chest. 'So you have to tell me... what does this mean? For you?'

"It means, she started, swallowing hard "that I've been running away from my feelings for way too long, and I realized it too late. And just when I was finally ready to admit to my feelings for you, I nearly lost you."

Tears sprang to her eyes.

He squeezed her hand again, felt her fingers tighten around his, her grip desperate. "You didn't lose me, Kate" he assured her, waiting until she lifted her gaze back to his before continuing. "Are-are you still ready?"

Her lips lifted in a small smile. "Yeah, I am. I love you, Rick."

Wonder surged through his veins, all but lifting him off the bed with the rush. She loved him. Kate Beckett loved him. Not some seemingly-perfect cardiac surgeon. Him.

"I love you, too," he said, tugging her closer, lips seeking hers for the first of many kisses to come.

Fin.


End file.
